colour composition

7/29/2019 Colour Composition

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Michael Dashow shows how layer organisation cangive a wide variety of options in defining a palette

olour is one of the most

essential tools an artist has

for setting mood andconveying emotion. Every

colour choice you make affects how a

viewer interprets your work. In fact, you

could render the same illustration with

a new palette and get a painting that feels

utterly different. I often take this

approach when Im testing out colour

schemes and its what Im going to

demonstrate in this workshop.

Rather than diving into one colour

scheme, I enjoy experimenting with

C

several options first. I spend a lot of prep

time setting up Photoshops layers to give

me the maximum possible versatility inadjusting colours. The reward for this

mode of working is that it offers

enormous latitude in determining the

pieces final palette.

Here, Ill share my workflow with you,

paying the most attention to how I use

layers to compile my palettes. Along the

way, Ill discuss colour in general and take

a look at the different ways that various

hues can be used to help set a mood in a

painting. So lets get started

December 200788

Workshops

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1Working withthumbnails

I begin with a pile of thumbnail sketches

and rough concepts. I cut and paste the

sketch fragments together in Photoshop,

making liberal use of the Free Transform

tool (Ctrl/Cmd+T) to rotate and adjust

pieces until they fit. From there I draw

over them, refining everything until I

have a final composition.

2Final line artI print the image out and trace it on

to 55lb vellum. Scanning the illustration

into Photoshop, I clean up the levels. I set

this layer to Multiply, so that any layers

underneath it will show through thewhite areas.

4The lighting passI work on my values in a separate

file its like rendering a lighting pass on

a 3D model without viewing any of the

materials. This lighting will be layered

on top of the previous colour pass. Using

the same line art, I create a new file.

Underneath the Line Art layer, I fill a layer

with 50 per cent grey. In greyscale only, I

roughly draw in all of the shadows andhighlights using a Round brush with 50-

65 per cent Hardness. This isnt a value

study I dont paint elements such as the

ground or the leather belts darker because

their darker values will come from the

colour file. With smaller brushes, I refine

the lighting and I use custom brushes of

scattered dots for the fur and the kids

hair. As I paint, if I need to focus on any

particular area, I can load its selection

from the colour file that I created earlier.

5Adding a second lightI want two light sources for this

image: a main light source coming from

the right balanced by a magical light

coming from the boys staff on the left.

Two light sources round out the shapes

well and add more visual interest to a

piece. I create a new layer called Side

Light. With a single shade of blue, I paint

the light that the staff casts on the scene.

Because its on a separate layer, I can

modify its colour later on. The magic

effect itself goes on another layer above

the Line Art layer.

6Adding the depth colourThe last colour affecting the scene is the depth perspective. This

effect should match the colour of the sky but thats still up in the air,

so to speak. I create a new layer named Depth. I choose a blue and add

large, flat, low-opacity areas of colour. The foreground characters are

completely left alone. As other characters and objects get closer to the

horizon, they are covered with more of this depth colour.

single layer and adjust the colour in it

without affecting anything else. I use

many layers, so its essential to organise

them efficiently with layer names, colours

and groups.

3Blocking in the colourUsing a round, hard-edged brush,

I fill in the entire painting with solid

colours. I create one new layer for every

single item or colour that I use theres

one layer for the Trolls skin, one for their

fur, another for their cloth, and so on. The

separate layers will make it easy to change

those colours later on. I can isolate a

December 2007 89

In depth Colour composition

MichaelDashowCOUNTRY: US

A 17-year

game industry

vet, Mike is

now the art

director at

Meez.com. He spends his

spare time creating light-

hearted and humorous

fantasy and science

fiction illustrations bothdigitally and in good old-

fashioned watercolours.

www.michaeldashow.

com

DVD AssetsThe files you need

are in the Michael

Dashow folder in the

Workshops section.

SOFTWARE: Photoshop

CS3, Painter X (demos)

UNI24.tut_mike 89 4/10/07 6:27:23 pm


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10Changing the paletteI select the Sky layer and use Adjust Hue/Saturation to shift

the sky to pink. The atmospheric haze must match the colour of

the sky, so I adjust the Depth layer too. The shadows on their

separate layer also need to be warmer. I use Adjust Hue/Saturation

because it offers a fine degree of control, enabling me to

experiment and stumble upon unexpected colour combinations.

I warm up the ground, tweak skin and clothing hues, and create

a more complementary magic light. Once finished, Ive adjusted

nearly every layer and have a completely different looking piece.

9Combining

the layersI drag all of these lightingand depth layers over to

the colour file. Now I get

to see how these colours

interact. Its immediately

apparent that my first

colour choices were not

the best ones pretty

blue skies and warm

sunny lighting isnt the

most gripping setting for

a confrontation withtrolls. We need more

drama, so its time to

change the colours!

11Spin the colour wheel againLets explore some different extremes before settling on one

palette. Ill start by taking the warm colours much further: intense

reds can increase the heart rate and are the colour of anger. Reds

indicate danger, as with emergency lighting and warning signs, so

I try adding an angry red sky and glowing red magic. It certainly

has increased the dramatic tension in the painting. My illustration

now looks more like the cover of a horror story rather than achildrens book!

13A cooler choiceBlues and greens are calming

colours. They slow down the heart rate

and have a soothing effect on us. Thats why

hospitals often rely on cool hues in their colour schemes. I redo

the colours to emphasise cool tones. Now the overall feeling is

much calmer than it was with the reds Too calm, in fact.

7Separating lightfrom shadows

Now I want to separate the shadows and

highlights into their own separate layers,

so that I can change their hues

independently. With just the lighting

layer visible, I duplicate the Red channel

twice to make two new selection

channels, one for highlights and the other

for shadows. I adjust the levels on one so

that just the highlights are white

(selected) while the rest of the image is

black (unselected). I do the opposite with

the other channel, inverting it so that

only the shadows will be selected.

8Creating the coloured lightingI create two new layers: Highlights and Shadows. For the

Highlights, I load the highlight selection and fill it with a pale yellow.

I set this layer to Overlay mode. In the Shadows layer, I fill the shadow

selection with a desaturated purple and set this layer to Multiply. Cool

shadows and warm light convey outdoor lighting really well.

12A muted paletteAn alternative way to depict horror is with muted colours,

as though the life has been drained from the environment. I try a

pallid colour set and accent it with a more subtle red this time.

This palette conveys seriousness and dread

particularly well, giving a spooky feel to

the painting. Its certainly more

subdued than the last colour comp,

but its still not appropriate for this

particular piece.

Mergevisible

layersintoa

newlayer

Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+Shift+E

Handyforquick

capturesofacolour

test.

AdjustHue/SaturationCtrl/Cmd+U

Adjustyourcolourswithsliders.ClickingColorisemakeseverythingasinglecolour.

December 2007

90

Workshops

Adding detailIts essential not to get

so bogged down in

details that you cant see

how your paint strokes

affect the image as awhole. Whenever Im

working on painting

details, I open a second

window of my image

using Window>Arrange>

New Window for File.

I keep this window

zoomed out so that I can

simultaneously see the

close-up area and the

entire painting.

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18Cloudy skies aheadTo paint the clouds in the sky, I go

to the bottom-most layer, which I have

kept separate from the rest of the

background. I use a custom brush

captured from the noise generated by the

Render Clouds filter. I refine the clouds

using increasingly smaller brushes, but I

try not to get too finicky this is backdrop

and I dont want to add so much detail

that it detracts from the foreground.

20Adding more depthEven with my careful colour

selection process at the start, I realise that

adding more blue into the background

would give the painting an even greater

sense of depth. I load the selection area of

the Depth Map. In a new layer, I fill thisarea with blue and set it to Colour.

14Working withsecondary colours

I decide to focus on a triadic palette using

the secondary colours. Purple and green

are terrific colours for magic because we

never see those hues in natural light. I test

out several variations before choosing the

primarily purple composition. The green

magic looks great against the purple,

attracting the eye and shaping the forms

well. The orange is used sparingly and

helps the main characters pop nicely

against the cool background.

15

Flattening the layers

Its finally time to flatten all theselayers. I flatten all of the kids colour-

blocking into a single layer. Then I

constrain the visibility of the lighting

layers to just this layer by Option-clicking

between the layers. I use Ctrl/Cmd+Alt/

Option+Shift+E to duplicate the result

the kids with all of their lighting on to

its own layer. Then I repeat the process

with the trolls, the trees and the ground.

When Im done, Im down to a handful

of workable layers... Its time to paint!

16The paintwork

I set the Line Art layer to 50 percent Opacity and turn off the staff s

Magical Glow layer to better see the forms

underneath. I refine the brush-work using

a Round brush with Hardness set around

65 per cent. I

constantly change

the paintbrushs

Opacity while I

work, anything

from a subtle 20

per cent to add

more cheek colourto 100 per cent for

sharp highlights.

I use fuzzy-edged

brushes for

blending. I add more shadows and subtle

details to the trolls faces, touch up the

armour highlights and incorporate some

reflected light. As the protagonists, the

kids get the most attention. I spend the

most time on their faces, which is what

the observer will connect to most.

17Adding ground detailTo make the ground look like a forest floor, I search through

free texture websites to find a leafy ground cover. I convert it to

greyscale and paste it into a new layer, set to Overlay, above my ground

layer (this is why I kept it separate from the rest of the background). I

use Free Transform to adjust its perspective and the Fresco filter to

remove unnecessary detail. I give this layer a low opacity and merge it

down. Then I paint over all of it. I start with large, loose strokes and

then refine the details and add roots with smaller brushes.

19Incorporating textureId like to add some texture to the

armour. I grab a metal texture and

desaturate it, and set the new layer toOverlay. To constrain this texture to just

the armour, I load the opacity for Troll

Metal from my original colour-blocking

file. When I click on the Add Layer Mask

button, my texture is hidden from all

areas except the armour.

21Final touchesBefore Im done, I want to shift the

colours of the line art to fit the mood

better. I select just the line art around the

kids and use Adjust Hue/Saturation,

clicking on the Colorise check-box. I turn

the lines a warm red-orange. I invert the

selection to choose the other lines in the

scene and colour these a subdued purple.

On a layer abovethe line art, I

paint some rim

lights, glows and

magical embers.

I also add a bit

of noise over

the top of the

image. With

those last

touches, its

finished!

Decrease/increasebrush

hardness[+

]Usethistoadjustbrushhardnessin incrementsof25percent.

December 2007 91

In depth Colour composition

Tidy layersWorking with this many

layers, its vital to keep

them well organised.

Fortunately, Photoshop

has several layer tools to

help keep things tidy.

Editing your layer names

makes sense, so you

dont have to hunt for

the right one. Changing

the colours of your layers

via the Layer Options

box can help to telllayers apart from each

other at a glance. And

grouping layers into

folders that can be

minimised helps reduce

on-screen clutter.

I

UNI24.tut_mike 91 4/10/07 6:27:48 pm

colour composition

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